boldygoing | The Long Silence [for losthunter]

Jim had been looking forward to getting drinks with Hunter after the end of the Nibiru mission.

Sure, it didn't exactly go according to plan, but when does it ever? And with the news of a five-year mission in the works, not yet assigned to a ship, he's pretty excited that the Enterprise might have a shot at the most prestigious and ambitious assignment Starfleet has ever offered. No crew is more prepared, he feels. And getting to explore uncharted territory every day for five years is a dream come true.

But that's before he gets called into Pike's office and busted back to fucking cadet.

Before the admiral tells him that the Enterprise is no longer Jim's.

Before Pike tracks him down in a dive bar, spiraling into the black hole of his own thoughts, consuming everything except the horrible, sinking feeling in his gut that somehow he's done everything horribly wrong, and the admiral tells him that he's not out of the running just yet.

He's not captain anymore. But Commander Kirk is the first officer of the Enterprise now, and as awful as it is that Spock has been reassigned, it's a rope thrown to a drowning man.

He's not okay. But maybe eventually he will be. And he barely has time to process any of this before the call comes in, that there's an emergency session called at Headquarters. Something like that is never, ever good news. And no matter what it's about, Jim has the distinct feeling that he's not going to be able to get around to having drinks with Hunter tonight.

He hurries to get into his gray dress uniform, and fires off a quick text message to the now-familiar number. Need raincheck. Emergency @ HQ.

Surely he'll have the time to reschedule later, once the crisis is over.

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"Never is..." Hunter has to smile slightly himself.

And speaking of things that were not planned, but are still right there on the surface level. "The thing that you should know, before you fly off to your next adventure and your next choice... is that I am always very proud of you. Thinking of you. Caring for you."

Jim can't help but be a little taken aback by that. Not because he didn't think Hunter felt that way, but because he's spent a lifetime of almost nobody ever saying anything like that to him. Not even hinting, really.

And he doesn't really know what to say to that.

"That's... I..." It's not often that Jim Kirk is at a loss for words, but this whole situation has been an emotional clusterfuck of epic proportions, and he flounders a bit, torn between the discomfort of a lifetime of feeling unworthy of such a sentiment, and the appreciation for his friend, who's taken on such a heavy emotional burden with little to show for it.

"You really don't have to say anything..." Hunter reassures him softly. He didn't want to have his words to be something that was left unsaid, in case something happens next time.

It might be for the best. The last time someone told Jim that they loved him, all he could think to say was 'that's so weird,' which didn't go over well. But he still feels like he's got to say something.

"Hunter... you're really something, you know that?" he says instead, mustering up a smile.

Hunter laughs softly. "Thanks. I am one of a kind."

"So what should we handle next? The big reveal to your crew? Or this book I brought?"

"Might be a good idea to save the 'big reveal' for when they're all together... that way we don't have to explain it more than once." Plus it'll give Jim the chance to broach the subject with Spock first, and make sure he'd be willing to do the mind meld in the first place.

"Sure... use logic." Hunter laughs slightly.

"Or is it that you just really want to hear this Stephen King novel?"

"What can I say, Spock's a good influence on me." Jim smiles slightly. It sounds like a joke, but it's also kind of true.

"What d'ya have today?"

"It is called Mr. Mercedes. It is book one of a series, that was just released by the writer... in my timeline." The book Hunter holds up is practically new.

Jim raises his eyebrows with interest. "The Bill Hodges trilogy? I haven't read that in years."

Hunter has to laugh. "Oh great. I have not gotten to the third book yet... it was just released last year."

"So no spoilers..." He teases Jim.

"Don't worry, I know the 'whodunnit' etiquette," Jim answers, his smile small but genuine.

Hunter is glad to hear that. He makes himself comfortable. Then opens the book, starting to read from the start of the book. He has gotten used to reading to Jim... and doesn't mind doing it even now, when Jim is better and could easily read it himself.

Jim, for his part, finds that he doesn't really mind either. While he could read it faster on his own, and though it could be awkward to have his friend reading to him like a five year old wanting a bedtime story... Jim hasn't often had the experience of anyone reading anything to him, not since his brother Sam ran away from home.

It's kind of nice.

And besides... it's more about the company than the story, anyway.

Jim leans back against the pillows and listens to Hunter's voice, as he begins to read out the tale.

Hunter has been keeping every book that he has read to Jim. They will become a nice addition to his crate, when he gets back to his captain's quarters. After all of this, it is nice to just watch for genuine reactions on Jim's face now.

[Aww Hunter. :D Good spot to wrap up.]

[Very good spot. Great scene!]

[Jim's got a few more weeks of hospitalization and about a year before the Enterprise is repaired enough for missions to resume, so that leaves us lots of room for more threads, too. :D]

[[Sweet. I do enjoy having the opportunity for more threads. There is always the option of doing the 'tell-the-crew' scene. I would suggest something Hunter related, but since Jim is stuck in a hospital, those don't seem too feasible at the moment]

[Well we have been timeskipping a bunch. ;) So we could always just move ahead to after Jim's released from Starfleet Medical. Jim would prefer to tell the crew about the Nexus in a more private space than a Starfleet-owned hospital anyway, since Jim is concerned Section 31 might be monitoring things there.]

[If you don't mind another timeskip, and Jim-centric thread, that works for me. :D]

[I don't mind. :) Though we could also do a Hunter-centric thread just after his release, if you'd like. Nothing says the big reveal has to come next. And I wouldn't want Jim to monopolize everything.]

[I don't mind Jim monopolizing things right now. It seems appropriate]

[All righty then. :D I won't be able to start a new thread tonight, and I don't know what our plans are for holiday stuff tomorrow, but I'll see if I can get something up by Monday night.]

[No worries. Just throw me a message when the thread is up]

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boldygoing - 2017-05-29 17:13 (UTC) - Expand